Mary's Gallery September 2022

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Winter challenge

I found this image online by American artist Pam Gigac, the original was painted on slate.
I used a mixture of black and cobalt blue Gouache on white paper to create the background and let it dry completely. Tree branches coming in from the right using various colours plus pen and ink.
Some hanging red berries and a little robin redbreast, a sprinkling of snow and it was done.
So there you have it, surprisingly simple but effective.
One of my favourites.

Tutor comment
A really nice creation here, this was your own choice and I can see you loved working on this one. Reaaly great illustration, well done.

Winter in Gouache

Gouache all the way with this one, it was fun to do. I need to practice painting snow on the ground, didn’t get the desired effect.
Thought it would be easy…. anything but!

Tutor comment.

Niothing is really easy but hopefully very enjoyable. A lovely result here Mary, well done.

Country Church

I thought this exercise has gone horribly wrong when the pen and ink I used spread on contact with watercolour paint. However I just ran with it and several layers of paint later this moody atmospheric image magically appeared.
This exercise also involved an experiment using crumpled clingfilm which should have created extra texture, although I don’t think I was successful with that.
Very happy with this unexpected result.

Tutor comment
I love this one the misxing and bljurring effects all add to the atmosphere. Do more like this. Da iawn.

Corfe castle

More Gouache, this time the colours are autumnal, Yellow Ochre, Sienna,Umber and a dash of Red. Applying pen and ink seemed to make the colours more vibrant. This is my attempt number two which is way outside my comfort zone, however I’m glad I persuaded myself to persevere. I could get to like this new medium.

Tutor comment
A good effort here and I am glad you are getting more into Gouache, again keep using this new medium.

Ludlow

An image of Ludlow town centre using Gouache paints on black card.
This is my first attempt at using Gouache as a painting medium, I need a lot more practice before deciding if I will become a fan.

Tutor comment
With more time and patience this new medium may become a real useful tool for your artwork, keep going.

portrait

This is my second attempt at capturing this beautiful lady by Degas. I used a grid to accurately place the facial features, when I was happy with the whole sketch I applied a watercolour sepia wash and left it to dry. I went over it with more pencil and added some colour.
Challenging, not that content with this effort, but it was another very happy class.

Picket fence

Sadly I lacked the patience required to do justice to this rather lovely picket fence.
The Scottish artist Angus McEwan uses multi layers of pure colour which gives him the quality of detail for which he is renowned.
Although I’m not totally delighted with my effort, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and the class as always was totally engaged.

Tutor comment
I think you have done a great job of this difficult task. It takes many processes and this was just a glimpse into how some artists do this kind of art, Well done.

Crowned in Light

This was intended to be all watercolour, but ended up as multi media. I used pen and ink to enhance the facial features and when it was totally dry, about two days later, I went over all of it with white pastel and smudged it for a softer feel. We all had fun in class with this poor lion.

Tutor comment
You have been so brave with this task, it was not easy and the original was meant to be pure watercolour. But you have chosen to be creative and invented a whole new lion, looks great, well done.

Still Life

I enjoyed this immensely. Very relaxing completed in class.

Tutor comment

Another pen and washes, this time in still life. I agree the process of this one was enjoyable and relaxing. Keep up the good work. I liked th elabel of the bottle, personal touch there!